BBC；US reports China missile build-up

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sandy

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4698655.stm
China has increased the number of short-range ballistic missiles on its coast opposite Taiwan, the US has said.

In an annual report to Congress, the Pentagon claimed there were now up to 730 such missiles in place. Last year's report found only 500.
The Pentagon said China could now be spending up to $90bn a year on defence, and that its military build-up put regional balances at risk.
But China has dismissed the claims, insisting its rise would be peaceful.
"Not only is China not a threat to anyone, but we would also like to make friends with people in every country, work together and develop mutually beneficial co-operation in order to facilitate everyone's progress," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said on Wednesday.
'Credible threat'
The Pentagon report said that China did not face a threat from any other nation. Yet it found that Beijing continued to invest heavily in its military, and its modernisation plans are aimed primarily at winning a war with Taiwan.

According to the American findings, there are now between 650 and 730 short-range ballistic missiles in position opposite Taiwan, with 100 more being deployed every year.
China is also developing the capability to launch air strikes and mount a blockade against the island, the report said.
In the past, the US has cautioned both China and Taiwan not to change the status quo.
Washington is Taiwan's main arms supplier and could be drawn into any conflict.
Broader ambitions
But the Pentagon also believes that China's strategic planners are looking beyond Taiwan.
The report points to China's growing missile capability and the imminent deployment of mobile, long-range ballistic missiles, known as DF31s, which could hit targets worldwide with nuclear warheads.
The Pentagon report says Chinese defence spending could be up to $90bn this year, more than twice the estimated figure given by Beijing.
This would make it the largest military spender in Asia - and third in the world after the US and Russia.
The US itself is thought to have an approximate annual defence budget of almost $400bn, according to World Bank figures.
The Chinese navy has bought into service advanced guided missile destroyers, submarines and fighter aircraft, bought from Russia.
Over the long term, says the Pentagon, if current trends persist, the Chinese military could pose a credible threat to other modern militaries operating in the region.
According to the BBC's Pentagon correspondent Adam Brookes, this is code for American forces in Asia.
The drafting of this report has been a contentious process, reflecting divisions in Washington between those who view Chinese power as a serious emerging threat and those who take a more benign view, our correspondent says. But the final product is a document tough in substance and in tone, which will do little or nothing to reassure those Americans who worry about China's intentions, he says.
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Actually, they're both but I like to call them deterrents. Hey, we, America, have installed quarters for Women in the once cramped silos, now they can powder their noses in peace.
 
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China has about 50 ICBMs (mostly older generations)

is that enough to form effective deterance against other nuke powers (50 unreliable missiles....)

definitely no...

I think China should get an upgrade...I mean at least make other nuke powers to take China seriously
 
An ICBM is and of itself an offensive weapon. It is used to decimate infrastructures. Its only defensive property is in the MAD, Mutally Assured Destruction idea, hardly a reassuring thought. A Patriot missile is a defensive weapon. A SCUD is offensive. A SAM is a defensive weapon. A Maverick is offensive.
We can do this all day... ;)

Now, Chi-Can, if, as you claim in your other post on another thread, China is "all about doing business" and making money why is it that they need nuclear missiles in order to be taken seriously? Japan does not have any nuclear capability and the entire world takes them seriously.
 
Each nation has its own nuclear doctrine.
China's doctrine is never using it first,but definitely retaliate if others hit China.

However, current missiles (50 of them, mostly first generation, unreliable ones) cannot ensure that after beng hit, China still has the effective capability to retaliate.

If CHina really wants to destroy a nation with ICBMs (clearly, that means China wants to hit either Europe or U.S, because otherwise the long-range), is 50 enough? if we minus the possiblity of missile failture, missile-defence system, and the fact that if China's mere 50 missiles are all likely destroyed during the first wave of attack by the enemy.
 
Perhaps you missed the question.

If, as you claim in your other post on another thread, China is "all about doing business" and making money why is it that they need nuclear missiles in order to be taken seriously? Japan does not have any nuclear capability and the entire world takes them seriously.
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By saying "taken seriously", I mean when a nation wants to nuke China (since China's doctrine is to never use it first), the nation will not be scared of the consequences because China's mere old 50 ICBMs will likely pose no threat of effective retaliation...

I apologize for my lack of elaboration for that "taken seriously" clause.
 
Japan has no nuclear weapons and the whole world takes it seriously.
WHY does China need nuclear weapons to be taken seriously?
 
the target is not japan you see

Japan is so close that China does not need ICBMs..

the whole thing is to deter other nations from even thinking of nuking China.

Hopefully no one will ever think of doing that, but every miliary in the world always prepares for the worst.

China has that right to do so, does it she?

and by this theory,
 
You said that China needs nuclear missiles for other nations to take it seriously. I am asking WHY since other nations, like Japan, that do NOT have nuclear weapons ARE taken seriously. Why does China need them whereas they do not??
 
one thing should emphasis, britain, france, russia, us all have that kind of weapon, so definetely china should have to have the equal power
and only china have anounce that china wont use nuke weapon first and wont use it against nations that have no nuke weapon, isnt that enough?
why should china disarm itself? one thing everyone should remeber,when china was weak, every powerful nations have invaded china?
 
China needs nuclear missiles for other nations to take it seriously. I am asking WHY since other nations, like Japan, that do NOT have nuclear weapons ARE taken seriously. Why does China need them whereas they do not??
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Still doesn't answer the question as to "why" china feels they need them whereas other nations do not.

No one mentioned disarming. And no, it doesn't not matter what china says. They have also publicly lied about SARS, Tiannamen, H5N1, Cultural Revolution, submarines in Japanese waters, pollution and on and on. China cannot be trusted, they prove it time and again.
 
Missileer said:
Actually, they're both but I like to call them deterrents. Hey, we, America, have installed quarters for Women in the once cramped silos, now they can powder their noses in peace.
Click to expand...

Hey, girls should be able to nuke the enemies of freedom too, ya know. I say, the hand that rocks the cradle, should also be able to push the button.
 
Japan, of course, has the protetion of U.S. HOwever, who is protecting China?
If some crazy power out there want to nuke China right now, they do not have to fear consequences because China's 50 old missiles are virtually no threats after being hit in the first wave of attack basically.

and China cannot be trusted?
how about Britain? mad cow, oh gosh..British beef shall never be trusted..
or HIV..oh god, Africans shall never be trusted..

each nation has had embrassement.
China is improving its own record.
Take North Korean nuke issue, China worked hard with U.S and other powers to try to make North Korean abandon their nuke plans..
 
Spain does not have nuclear weapons.
Germany does not have nuclear weapons.
Korea does not have nuclear weapons.
Vietnam does not have nuclear weapons.
Indonesia does not have nuclear weapons.
Costa Rica does not have nuclear weapons.
Australia does not have nuclear weapons.
New Zealand does not have nuclear weapons.

Shall I go on?

WHY does China need them whereas these other nations do not???
 
I can honestly see the need for China to have nukes in their mind, cause without them the US might be more likely to attack. Being the worlds scond largest power i can see why they would need nukes.
 
Spain Germany Korea Vietnam Indonesia .Costa Rica .Australia NewZealand
are not big powers

China is a big power ( not a super power yet), and it has faced and still faces threats of other nations using nukes against china (during cold war, of course U.S, remember MacArthur wanted to use nukes? during sino-soviet split, Soviets wanted to nuke us, and even today, with U.S' yearly report continues to point China as this and that threat)

With all these finger pointings, and U.S' thousands of missiles point at China (or else where they are pointing?), China needs something to make sure other government think twice before nuking us.

Military planners think of the worst, always.
 
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